A Last Will and Testament that Expresses a True ROCOR’s Bishop Beliefs Concerning the Moscow Patriarchate

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

-George Orwell

The Last Will and Testament of Archbishop Antony of Los Angeles

The Lord has destined us to live in an extremely hard time unlike any other in the history of the Russian Church. That is why in the last will and testament one should speak of the most important thing. When a living organism is dying, all thoughts are concentrated on how to survive. So should we. In our times of predominant apostasy from God and the Truth, we should be concerned with two questions: how to keep faithfulness to the True God and how to save our souls.

1. According to many canonical rules, all of the so-called bishops, archbishops and metropolitans of the Moscow Patriarchate, being KGB agents, are apostates from Christ. The 62nd Apostolic Canon deprives them of these titles, and if they repent, it calls for them to be accepted as laymen and not to be ordained. Similar orders are found in numerous (24) canonical rules. From this, we see that the Divine Canons do not admit the Divine Gifts to apostates – KGB agents.

The holy Martyr St. Patriarch Tikhon testifies to the same in his epistle excommunicating the soviet power; Blessed Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) does likewise when he condemns the Declaration of Metropolitan Sergius (Stargorodsky), as does Metropolitan Anastassy (Gribanovsky) in his last testament.

Hear Holy Patriarch Tikhon’s words stated right after committing the God-fighting soviet power to anathema: “We exorcise you, faithful children of the Orthodox Church of Christ, in no way to associate with these fiends of humankind.” Holy Patriarch Tikhon not only admonishes but exorcises. And exorcism is admonishment with the threat of punishment. His words turned out to be prophetic… How terribly believers were punished by the communism that so many of them had supported.

In his letter to Metropolitan Sergius, Blessed Metropolitan Anthony called his (Sergei’s) declaration a betrayal. During those times (1927) Moscow bishops, archbishops and metropolitans had not yet become KGB agents. The main task of the KGB was the “eradication of religion”. This makes the activities of the bishops, archbishops and metropolitans of the Moscow Patriarchate much worse than betrayal.

In his last will and testament, Metropolitan Anastassy has said: “As for the Moscow Patriarchate and its bishops, archbishops and metropolitans, the Russian Church Abroad must not have any canonical, prayerful, or even simple everyday association, leaving them at the same time to the final judgment of the Council of the future free Russian Church.”

These words point out the first and repeated condemnation of the Moscow Patriarchate by the Russian Church Abroad. As the Apostle Paul teaches: A man that is a heretic after the first and second admonition reject (Tit 3: 10).

2. Our Lord destines us to a great blessing: to belong to the Holy Orthodox Church, for only here can we obtain Salvation, if we do not waste the time of preparing ourselves for eternity.

To avoid wasting this time, let us turn to the awesome admonitions of the Word of God, Gospel parables, prayers and church hymns which teach us that our mind is filled with unnecessary triviality and troubles, THAT THE ENEMIES OF OUR SALVATION GIVE TO US. And we, in our carefree manner, like to think that they are our own harmless and pleasant thoughts. Having distracted our mind from God, the enemy begins bringing sinful thoughts and wishes, which are extremely hard to resist. TO FIGHT AGAINST SIN SUCCESSFULLY, ONE MUST REPLACE HIS THOUGHTS WITH CONTINUAL PRAYER TO JESUS.

All the Saints had to do this to reach their sanctity. There is no other way. The great Saints of ancient times, as well as the Holy Father Seraphim of Sarov, St. John of Kronstadt, Holy Father Paissy Velichkovksy and the great Startsy of Optina all testify to this.

This prayer saves and is successful only if done patiently and humbly, not with the goal of pleasure, but rather release from sins, and it demands a lot of time.

Our Merciful Lord Jesus Christ, grant us eternal salvation by the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever Virgin Mary, and of all the Saints! Amen.

(Signed:) 

Archbishop Antony of L.A. Los Angeles 

24 November / 7 December 1995 

Holy Martyr Katherine